Page 120 of Wish You Were Mine

DOES THIS SCARE YOU?

55

SUMMER

“What the hell?” I strode to Asher’s side and read the note. “This is from the same person as the other one.”

Officer Mehrtens nodded. “I suspected as much. But what does it mean?”

I stared at the awful words, wondering what their purpose was. “Both notes mentioned being afraid. Perhaps this person is trying to scare Asher and that’s why they took Marcy.”

“It’s a possibility,” Mehrtens agreed. She pulled the note away. “Or perhaps they want to scare Frannie, and Summer’s Ute was simply a convenient place to leave the note. I’ll get this tested for fingerprints immediately. Meanwhile, you two should meet Connor at the information center. I hear that’s where he’s giving instructions for the search.”

She breezed out of the room, leaving us in a state of shock. I searched Asher’s face. His expression was drawn, and the set of his mouth was grim. No doubt he was blaming himself for all of this.

“If someone is doing all of this just to scare me, I’m going to fucking end them,” he growled. “She’s a baby, not a tool to be used in someone’s vendetta. Not to mention it’s snowing worse than it has in years. So many things could go wrong.”

I took his hand. “Let’s find her before they do then.”

He allowed me to lead him out of the house and to my Ute. We drove to the information center. A light was on inside and several figures were silhouetted against the window. Cars lined the side of the road, so we parked half a block back and walked to the center.

Asher pulled the door open and held it for me. I entered, getting out of the cold wind, even though it wasn’t exactly warm inside. Connor was standing at the far end of the room, his broad shoulders and height making him immediately obvious. He nodded to me and Asher.

“Sorry to hear about Marcy,” he said gruffly. “If she’s out there, we’ll do everything we can to find her.”

We waited a few excruciating minutes for the rest of the search team to trickle in. Once we’d all arrived, Connor called the room to order. He shifted from one foot to the other when we looked at him, uncomfortable with the attention.

“We’re searching for Marcy Gunn. She’s nine months old with dark hair and brown eyes.”

A rumble of discontent rippled through the room. No one wanted a baby to be in danger.

“Marcy was last seen at her parent’s place on Watson Road. She can’t walk, and there was no sign she’d attempted to leave of her own accord. Because of that, we’re treating it as a possible kidnapping. If you find her, and she’s not alone, please do not approach. Whoever has her may be dangerous. Radio me with the location and I’ll advise the police.”

Asher sucked in a breath. I grabbed his hand and squeezed, trying to anchor him in the moment so his mind couldn’t run wild with worst case scenarios.

“We’ll focus on buildings, since it’s unlikely anyone is outdoors in this weather,” Connor continued, raising his voice to be heard above the muttering. “I’ll assign each of you a search quadrant and I want you to clear all buildings within that quadrant.”

Nervously, I raised my hand.

Connor’s eyebrow shot up. “What is it, Summer?”

I rubbed my lips together, hoping I wasn’t asking something obvious. “If someone local took her, then what’s to have stopped them from just taking her home?”

To my relief, Connor nodded. “Good question. There’s every possibility that’s what happened, but if so, it’s a matter for the police, not us. They are in charge of the search of Destiny Falls township, and that includes private homes within it. They aren’t legally allowed to enter without a warrant, but if anyone refuses entry, that’s suspicious in itself.”

“True.” I supposed all I could do was tag along with Asher and be glad I was allowed to contribute at all. If not for him, I doubted anyone would let me join the search. I had no training. Sure, I knew the trails around the area well, but that didn’t mean I had the skills to search for a baby in a snowstorm.

Connor began to shout assignments and hand out maps. The search and rescue team had an app where they could record places they’d visited so others wouldn’t double up, but the maps would be useful for anywhere outside of internet service range.

We were given an area near the Castle Valley trail and assigned three buildings to check: a holiday home that should be empty, a rental studio that was awaiting renovation, and an old hunting cabin.

“Do you mind if we use your Ute?” Asher asked, perusing the map. “I can drive if you’d like.”

“I’ll be fine.” I might not know much about search and rescue, but I was perfectly capable of driving in bad weather.

We waited to make sure we didn’t miss any instructions and then headed out. We checked the holiday home first. It was a large glass-walled building set just off the highway. I parked outside and Asher and I made our way to the door together. I rang the doorbell, but it didn’t make a sound, so I knocked instead.

There was no response.

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